Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has returned 40,700 km² to use, of which 15.1 thousand hectares are agricultural lands cleared of mines within the state program "Humanitarian Demining." This was announced by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who added that this year it is planned to return almost 10 thousand more hectares to use, primarily agricultural lands, as reported by UNN.
Today, on the International Day for Mine Awareness, we state: Ukraine remains the most contaminated country in the world with explosive ordnance — over 130 thousand km² of territories are potentially dangerous. The most affected areas are Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Donetsk regions.
According to her, Ukraine is changing its approaches to demining, reducing the cost of operations, and involving Ukrainian robotic systems.
This year, we plan to return almost 10 thousand more hectares to use, primarily agricultural lands. The list was compiled for the first time using the GRIT prioritization system. We are developing the market for demining operators: their number has increased from 74 to 134, including through the involvement of the private sector alongside the State Emergency Service and the State Special Transport Service.
The Prime Minister added that Ukraine has a program to compensate for demining costs for individuals and self-employed farmers — an application can be submitted through the State Agrarian Register. The Soul of Soil campaign continues, promoting products from demined territories and supporting humanitarian demining.